Big East Basketball: Markus Howard, Myles Powell lead Conference POY rankings

1. Markus Howard – Marquette

Any legitimate player of the year list in the Big East conference would not be complete if the best player in the conference was not included. Markus Howard is not only the best player in the Big East he is one of the best players in the entire country. The junior guard is one of the best shooters in the country but can beat you in a ton of different ways. The Marquette Golden Eagles plan to ride Howard all the way to the regular Big East crown.

Marquette behind the play of Howard this year have separated themselves from the rest of the Big East and look like the overwhelming favorite, and a higher seed in the NCAA tournament. The junior guard leads their team in scoring and assists. He already has a 40-point game on the ledger this year, and that came against top-15 ranked and previously undefeated Buffalo. The junior plays his best when the lights shine the brightest. Much like the previous players on this list Howard has an extremely high usage rating and is a volume shooter. With the volume most nights, comes tremendous efficiency.

The Golden Eagles have a better team around the guard so if he is having an off night the team will still most likely win the game. His long-range game is deadly, he is clutch however he has one aspect that makes him one of the toughest players to defend in the entire country. That is his ability to get to the free throw line. While at the line Howard rarely misses. Currently he is averaging 25 points a game and there is no reason to think that will not continue well into the Big East regular season.

As was mentioned, the race for the Player of the Year in the conference is a three-man race, but the title runs through Wisconsin. It is hard to fathom how Howard is not going to win this award, especially if Marquette continues to win games and the production for the guard continues. The fans in Milwaukee appear to be in for a special season.